MedievalGame2001Jan14

Ref: MedievalGame - Session 008 - Sun 14th Jan 2001

As far as I can tell, the party are trying to (either together or individually):

1. Give salvation to the talking herbalist head
2. Rescue the spirit of an owl by killing a giant eagle
3. Return the spirit of the lioness by destroying "the Power of Bakoon"
4. Retrieve the missing artefacts so they can get the Stone of Arialla
5. Learn the Dragon Songs with the Stone as a boon (via Sable)
6. Find the Dragon Cloaks
7. Understand more about/help the Dreamweavers
8. Determine if the Dark Conspiracy is once again a threat
9. Find a Morkal, kill it and use its bone in the Walashi antidote

That said, on to today's episode ...

• The group rested for another couple of days in the Citadel talking with the Brethren and getting to know a little more about their new "blood brother" Chl'Lak (Jeff). They also spent some time researching the Walashi toxin and uncovered the antidote. However, there were six ingredients the rarest of which required the powdered bone of the Morkal. Upon further investigation and reflection the Morkal was at first believed to be a creature of myth, a dangerous and invincible foe called upon by necromancers to use as steeds. Further inspection found them to be abhorrent and very rare scavengers who had a liking for wastelands and uninhabited places. Chl'Lak said they might find one in the Barren Wastes far to the North East. The group said they would go there, but thought it a bit scary as they weren't sure they could actually take one on and win!

• Also needed was the dried and powdered gland of the Bookur fish. The Bookur is a favoured food of the Kir birds (remember the acid spitting ones you encountered when you first arrived at the Citadel?). Since the Kir are resident to the north-west and the Brethren have seen them many times, it was safe to assume that there were Bookur around.

• Tracebe called on the spirit of the falls and asked if it could offer up some Bookur (after it confirmed they lived above the falls) so they could extract its glands as an antidote. The spirit disagreed that this was a just reason for providing them and suggested the group go fishing. So they did.

• The first day only saw a couple of large fish caught and no Bookur. However, the next night was more successful, catching a load of sprats, 2 Bookur and a Yarvil. The Yarvil is a vicious 2 meter long black fish with spines along its back that contain neuro-toxin. Fortunately, Valdomean was on hand to sleep the creature as it broke the surface and it was brought ashore safely. The fish was dried and salted as this is the best way to eat the normally bitter flesh. The Bookur glands were dried and powdered and the antidote mixed, minus the rolled silver and the Morkal bone.

• Having said their goodbyes, the group (now plus Chl'Lak) set off to the Human town to seek the artefacts they were missing since Chl'Lak was the closest one of them that looked Human and could actually speak the language. They retrieved their horses and approached Utu for passage to a shrine or obelisk that was nearer the Human town. Utu was reluctant to aid them, but warmed when he met Chl'Lak. They chit-chatted in Chl'Lak's language and Utu consented to dreamweave them back to Sable as this was probably the closest portal to the town. A few suspicious eyes fell on to Chl'Lak.

• After a short trip, the group were once again back with Sable and wasted no time in learning a bit more of the Dragon Songs and a few other skills. Preparing their packs and asking if Sable knew of any closer portals (there aren't, though there is another portal far to the north of the town), they set off on horseback to the mountain range that lie between them and the Human town.

• The 4-day journey to the foothills was largely uneventful and the group camped overnight before embarking into the mountain pass. The cold grey mountains rose up dominantly from the green hills and woodland, providing a stark contrast to the shelter and comfort of the Barren Lands that they were in.

• Overnight however, J'hanna heard three goblins (as they were later identified) approaching the camp in the woods. She woke the others and they frightened them away. Chl'Lak cast tongues on one as they fled through the bushes and understood that one of them was almost terrified (J'hanna managed to step in its excrement that it left by the horses) and the idea that they could "take the group" was probably unsound.

• Following up the goblins J'hanna discovered that about 15 had camped with their Orc leader in a nearby copse. Although they lived in their own crap, they managed to scent the Hemnat and started to cautiously pursue, though they did not follow beyond the edge of their copse.

• Later, the goblins massed their troops and lined the edge of their copse. The orc leader was somewhere in the woods and blew on his horn. The party jumped up and readied for battle. Tracebe had just finished summoning and binding an owl spirit which, although it was summoned for great night vision, turned out to give superior hearing. The price of this was that he had agreed to help the spirit travel to the light by defeating the eagle that had made it a spirit in the first place. Tracebe turned to the fire and started throwing herbs and chemicals into it to fake a ritual. Chl'Lak briskly cast a flame blade on Shy and his Great Swords. The goblins trembled at the edge of the woods. One of them could no longer hold its bowel movements, and the orc who was just about to sound a call on the horn stopped mid note and changed the call to a rally cry and all the goblins turned and fled back into the woods.

• J'hanna and Valdomean launched a couple of arrows at the unarmoured (neigh naked) foes as they turned. J'hanna impaled one through the shoulder, breaking its collar bone and sending it squealing off in agony. Another waved its tatty short sword at the party and Valdomean neatly severed the hand just below the wrist. The goblin collapsed in shock.

• Shy-Lone and Chl'Lak gave chase and pursued them into the woods. Shy-Lone arrived in their clearing first brandishing the flaming sword. The orc chief called to him to fight one-on-one and shouted some instructions to the trembling goblins. The orc swung wildly with his spiked club, narrowly avoiding a fumble, and Shy-Lone countered with a vorpal cut removing his right leg cleanly below the hip. Nearly unconscious, the orc fell and attempted to parry any further attacks. Meanwhile the goblins had lit a few arrows and nervously aimed them at Shy-Lone. Snitch, Snitch, Snitch loosed the 3 arrows. One flew high, one straight into the ground and the other straight at Shy-Lone. Fortunately the magical armour that Tracebe had thoughtfully provided protected him and the goblins hastily tried to light more arrows while many ran around in almost panic. Shy dived over the orc for cover from the arrows, but only fell into the dung!

• Chl'Lak valiantly burst into the clearing waving another flaming sword. The goblins fired off the arrows in fright and they flew anywhere but towards our "heroes". Summoning much power, Chl'Lak called a ball lightning into being, something that Kalarell had once cast against the human bandit chief. Quickly it wend its way across the clearing. The two goblins that were still by the fire turned to flee, but too late. The ball struck one on its leg, immediately disintegrating it below the knee, and vaporising the flesh of the upper part of the leg leaving only the bone. The goblin fell. However, the power of the electricity discharged into the second goblin and the ground. The second goblin suffered a similar fate but only managed to get its leg charred (before dieing of shock). However, the discharge also managed to carry some 25 feet through the damp ground to Shy-Lone who took a jolt to the leg (protected by the magical armour fortunately), but the orc chief took it straight through the chin. The residual burst of energy lit his head up from inside and the misshapen skull was clear to see, before he slumped dead, eye sockets smoking.

• The rest of the goblins fled.

• The party congratulated themselves on the fight, cleaned themselves up from the foul muck the creatures produced in great quantities and settled down for the night.

• The next day Valdomean caught a goat from the hillside so at least they would have some different meat rather than the dried Yarvil and occasional rabbit from the traps set each night. Breaking camp they ventured into the mountain pass.

• A couple of days later, Tracebe had the bright idea (based on his owl escapade) that he could summon a spirit of a mountain lion and bind it into a sword. Shy agreed that his sword would be a good vessel and Tracebe called upon the spirits. However, he managed to get the spirit of all the mountain lions instead of just one. When he arrogantly told it that it was going to be bound into the sword, it issued a roar which tore upon the fabric of the spirit plane that physically shook the material one. The party (who were still awake as it was night) were very worried. The lion retreated into the aether issuing a warning to the group.

• The next day, the group encountered an old human woman walking towards them. After a brief conversation with Chl'Lak (after Shy had fumbled to attempt to offer the woman a lift), she went on her way saying that bad things wait ahead and they would surely die, parting with the human affection "see you in hell". Weird. However, she did point out that they didn't want to follow the right fork up ahead.

• Later, the group saw a couple of grey mountain lions watching from their camouflaged vantage points and became more cautious. Later, Tracebe decided to humble himself and call upon the spirit of the lions to ask forgiveness and ask how they could be forgiven. The lion recounted a tale that a long long time ago a human sorcerer called upon many of the spirits of the mountains to hear his words. They gathered and were caught napping when he bound the lion's mate into a pelt of one of the mountain lions in a ritual. Try as they might, the other spirit could not affect the sorcerer and it and its fellow humans fled the mountain pass carrying the "Power of Bakoon" with them as it is now known. In order to overturn their transgression, the group are to find and destroy the pelt that holds his mate so that she can be returned to them. If they don't, then the pride will devour them. With more motivation, the group continued on their way to the human town.

• Another day passed quietly, with only a couple of lions prowling close by ... observing. However, on the following night a strange noise was heard in the darkness ... a noise that gnawed at the very sinew, the very tissue that makes the Hemnat whole, a calling from their past - a forgotten racial memory that makes every one sit bolt upright in the night in a cold sweat, terrified.